The Partnership of the Year category at the Birmingham Post Business Awards highlights and celebrates the successes of a company which has collaborated with two or more organisations on a project or business endeavour.

This year, the category welcomes the sponsorship of Midlands Connect.

With a 25-year vision which focuses on investing more into road, rail and technology in order to help the region reach its full potential, Midlands Connect is the voice of the Midlands.

Working alongside local authorities, local enterprise partnerships and chambers of commerce, Midlands Connect helps to bring Birmingham's key locations closer together by striving for new transport strategies.

A company built on relationships, the Partnership of the Year category was an extremely apt one for Midlands Connect to get behind.

Director Maria Machancoses said: "Midlands Connect is a partnership which thrives on the relationships it has built with local authorities, chambers of commerce, local enterprise partnerships, airports and national agencies.

"By working together with one clear, powerful voice, the Government has recognised that we are putting the region in the best possible position to secure the funding it needs to transform transport connections in the Midlands.

"Our experience shows that collaboration is vital to the success of any organisation and partnerships can achieve great things.

"This new award celebrates the power of the partnership in all its forms."

Midlands Connect has been speaking for the region for four years and in that time has become a solid part of Birmingham's business makeup.

Maria discussed how the company contributes to the local business community, adding: "Our landmark, 25-year transport strategy, published in 2017, puts economic growth at its heart, focusing on improvements that will support the creation of new jobs and house building.

"The recommendations of our strategy could add £5 billion per year to the Midlands' economy by 2040 and support the creation of 300,000 new jobs.

"The Midlands is at the heart of the UK's manufacturing, automotive and logistics industries, which all rely heavily on reliable and resilient road and rail networks.

"At the same time, our proposed improvements to the rail network are being developed to keep pace with the rapid growth in professional services jobs in and around our major towns and cities, with demand for rail travel expected to increase alongside it."

Margetts Wealth Management sponsors Family Business of the Year

Margetts Wealth Management, the independent financial adviser based in St Paul's Square in Birmingham, is a proud sponsor of the Family Business of the Year category at this year's awards.

Kevin Smith, managing director of Margetts Wealth Management, said: "We chose to support this category as we feel that family businesses perfectly align with our core values and ethos of how strong personal relationships result in successful business models.

"Here at Margetts Wealth Management, we pride ourselves on creating and building on those strong relationships with our clients.

"We look forward to working with all the finalists to see what makes them stand out from the crowd."